Like many small businesses around the country, Jon Estelita's store has been hit hard by the covid-19 pandemic.
Estelita, the co-owner of Moxy Modern Mercantile, said sales are down 30% at his boutique gift shop in Little Rock's South Main neighborhood, so he was surprised when customers flocked to his store Friday. Compared with last year, Moxy did three times the business on Black Friday this year, Estelita said.
"Now, I don't know what tomorrow is going to be, but we had a bigger Black Friday," he said.
In the midst of a pandemic that led to a recession and mass unemployment across the country, some small businesses in Little Rock have found a glimmer of optimism as the holiday shopping season begins.
Black Friday, traditionally the beginning of the holiday shopping season, boosts sales for many businesses -- big and small. But this year, with joblessness high, covid-19 cases on the rise and many families struggling, many small-business owners in Little Rock said they weren't sure what to expect, and Friday's influx of customers came as a pleasant surprise.
Estelita said many of Friday's customers told him that they preferred to Christmas-shop at a local small business like his rather than with a large retailer such as Amazon.
Since the pandemic began, Estelita has made some adjustments, including offering curbside service. And this year, he's offering some gifts of a different flavor, such as pandemic-inspired toilet paper and dumpster-fire Christmas tree ornaments.
"We're making light of the bad year we had, and when people come in, they seem to be responding to that," Estelita said.
Some businesses credit their regular customers for helping keep them afloat this year and for making Black Friday a bit rosier.
"You know, it's had its ups and downs, but people have been very loyal and have continued to shop with us," said Narcissa Jackson, owner of Bella Boutique in Little Rock's Heights neighborhood.
Jackson said she had a "very good Black Friday" and attributed it to regular customers, but the uncertainty of the pandemic weighs on her.
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"It's hard to know what's going to happen the next day -- are they going to shut us down," Jackson said of the potential for restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. "I probably would say until a few weeks ago, when cases started really, really increasing, I would say I haven't been as busy."
For many shoppers, Black Friday means looking for deals at major retailers rather than frequenting local shops, which is a problem for small businesses, especially during the pandemic, said Sylvester Smith, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Smith said small businesses do not have the cash flow that major retail outlets do, making the holiday shopping season, which helps propel businesses into "the black" for the year, even more crucial.
"The thing that small-business owners need most is just for the customers to offer their support," Smith said. "Because if the community doesn't step up and support these firms, many of them won't be around this time next year."
Like many other business owners, Valerie Wingert, owner of South Main Creative in Little Rock, said she was worried early in the pandemic about the future of her business with so many people staying home. But business has been good, she said, exemplified by the many customers who visited her shop on Black Friday.
Wingert said the pandemic-related economic downturn has caused her a lot of stress. Sixty merchants and local artists have space in her store, she said.
"I feel like I'm the mom of all these people, and I have to take care of them the best I can," Wingert said. "I was terrified that everybody was going to lose what they had," but thanks to a government loan and customer loyalty, her business is doing well.